16 Februari 2012

Aussies to Improve C-130 fuel Consumption

LONDON, (UPI) -- The Australian air force aims to improve fuel efficiency of its C-130 aircraft fleet and has contracted Rolls-Royce to help in the effort.

Under the one-year agreement, Rolls-Royce will analyze fuel usage to improve consumption and reduce the aircraft's environmental effects. It will do so using techniques developed for use by commercial airlines by Optimised Systems and Solutions Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary.

"We are looking for innovative solutions to the challenges that we face and we hope that working together with Rolls-Royce on this trial will identify some real opportunities to make significant savings on a very large element of any defense budget -- fuel," Air Marshal Geoff Brown, chief of the Australian air force said.

The work will be conducted at air force base Richmond in New South Wales, where the air force's C-130s are based.

"We have a longstanding relationship with the (Australian air force), which will be enhanced by the introduction of this innovative fuel efficiency program," said Nick Durham, Rolls-Royce's president of Customer Business UK and International-Defense.

"We are now using the fuel management expertise and technology that has been developed for civil airlines to advise them on how best to reduce their fuel usage.

"Our experience shows that this could save the (air force) as much as 1-3 percent of their total fuel bill without compromising their operational capability."